Sixth-Graders Receive New Chromebook Laptops

Bedford Junior High School sixth graders Eddie Keller, 12, (left to right), Lucian Walker, 11, and David Renshaw, 11, work on their language arts assignment. The sixth grade students have received laptops to be used as an instructional tool.

But now, damaged textbooks are a thing of the past. The 12-year-old has a much different device placed on the desk in front of him – a brand new laptop computer.

Eddie and his classmates recently received Chromebook laptops to use for their studies as part of Bedford Public Schools’ 1:1 initiative. Under the millage-funded plan, a portable, wireless, digital device will be put in the hands of all Bedford students in grades three to 12 by the 2017-18 school year.

In January, Bedford’s sixth-graders became the first class to receive their devices. In just a few short weeks, Eddie’s daily learning has changed.

“The computers could (become) damaged, but the Internet can’t,” Eddie said. “You get a lot more information this way.”

After a technology millage renewal cleared the polls in 2011, BPS began discussions of bringing a 1:1 learning program to Bedford. The five-year tax provided nearly $244 for each student in Monroe County.

Lora Currie, Eddie’s teacher at BJHS, has already seen a change in her classroom since the Chromebooks made an appearance in mid-January.

Each morning, Ms. Currie uses Google Docs to send her students a list of the tasks they will need to complete that day. The agenda details what activities or lessons they’ll do and gives information as to what points of their curriculum the activity addresses.

This approach allows students to work at their own pace and, in turn, gives Ms. Currie and her aids a chance to spend more time helping each of them.

For the 11- and 12-year-olds utilizing the new technology, the change has been fun.

One day during a Language Arts lesson, Madison Norton, 11, accessed the National Geographic Web site on her new laptop to learn about natural disasters. This tied in with the class’ lessons on “survival stories.”

“I clicked on volcanoes because I thought they were the most destructive,” she said. “I don’t think people would be able to escape them quickly enough.”

After researching volcanoes, Madison typed up a quick response paragraph explaining what she had learned about the volcanos. She posted it on a Web site where all of her classmates displayed their answers.

The old laptop computers they would use occasionally for lessons were sluggish and took a long time to load anything, Eddie said, so the students spent more time waiting for the device to boot-up than they did learning.

Increased technology in the classroom has many benefits including higher test scores for students. The state of Michigan plans to eliminate paper testing for all MEAP and ACT tests starting in the 2014-15 school year. By 2017-18, all statewide testing would take place online.

While at school, the Chromebooks are strictly for educational purposes. Social media sites, like Facebook, are blocked, but the youngsters are allowed to play learning games once they’ve finished their work and gotten permission.

If they skip the work and go straight for the games, Ms. Currie will know — she can use her own computer to see what each child’s screen displays. And she can check in on them from anywhere in the building.

“Once we had a substitute (while Ms. Currie was in a meeting) and he let us play games,” Lucian Walker, 11, said. “But a message from Ms. Currie popped up on our screen that said ‘What are you supposed to be doing?’ ”

At home, however, Lucian said he plays games on the Chromebook all the time.

The students are allowed to put their own personal touches on their computers. Madison has a picture of her kitten, Chloe, as the background of her computer screen. Lucian said he has downloaded a number of Google apps.

So far, Ms. Currie believes the leap into the digital world has been a simple and positive one.

“We knew several years ahead of time that this change would be taking place,” Ms. Currie said. “I’ve been really pleased with the training the teachers and students have received so far.”

Bedford began giving computer and Internet safety classes to students, teachers and parents in November.

Ms. Currie said they also taught the students the proper way to complete their class work online.